Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to mobile payments and more particularly to payments based on proximity and social contacts.
Related Art
More and more consumers are purchasing items and services over electronic networks such as, for example, the Internet. Consumers routinely purchase products and services from merchants and individuals alike. The transactions may take place directly between an on-line merchant or retailer and the consumer, and payment is typically made by entering credit card or other financial information. Transactions may also take place with the aid of an on-line or mobile payment provider such as, for example, PayPal, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. Such payment providers can make transactions easier and safer for the parties involved. Purchasing with the assistance of an on-line or mobile payment provider from the convenience of virtually anywhere using a mobile device is one main reason why on-line/mobile purchases are growing very quickly.
Typically, mobile payments are conducted between one payer and one payee and involve the payer receiving a bill or invoice from the payee and then providing full payment for the bill or invoice over an electronic network. However, in some situations, a bill or invoice may need to be ‘split’ or divided up into a plurality of bills. For example, a plurality of customers (payers) may order items together at a restaurant (payee), and those orders may be recorded for the plurality of customers as a group and presented in a single bill to the plurality of customers. The payment of such a bill with the assistance of a mobile payment provider raises a number of issues.
Conventionally, mobile payment for a bill that includes items to be paid for by a plurality of customers is accomplished by one of the customers entering the number of customers and a total amount due on the bill into a payer device. The payer device divides the total amount due by the number of customers to generate an equal amount due for each customer, and then sends a payment request to each customer. The customer using the payer device pays the total amount due on the bill with the assistance of the mobile payment provider, and then must wait to get reimbursed by each of the customers according to the payment requests sent using the payer device. Alternatively, each customer receives a request on each customer's respective mobile device, and each customer then makes a payment for the individually split amount to the payee.
The above process typically requires the payer to enter individual email addresses for each customer. If the number of participants rises over two, it quickly becomes very cumbersome to enter the required email addresses.
Thus, there is a need for an improved bill splitting system for use in making mobile payments.